Industry Terminology

INDUSTRY TERMINOLOGY

Biennial

Use of your shared vacation ownership week every second year. Owners are often referred to as either “odd” or “even” year owners.

Club or Holiday Club

A term used to describe various types of shared vacation ownership and usually involving use or access to more than one resort location and other vacation services. However, the term is used for many different purposes, including “clubs” which may have nothing to do with shared vacation ownership.

Destination Club

This type of shared vacation ownership offers affluent members the use of an array of executive vacation properties at exclusive resorts and leading hotels. Membership into these clubs can vary from fractional ownership to points-based programs and the cost can be around the 6 figure range.

Developer

The company responsible for the actual construction of the accommodations and selling the product. They are the original owners of the resort.

Exchange Company

An Exchange Company is a company which offers shared vacation owners a method to exchange the accommodations they own for comparable accommodations. Most resort companies are either affiliated with an exchange company or offer an internal exchange mechanism that will allow shared vacation owners to exchange to resorts within their company’s group of resorts.

Exchange Value

A term used for the value given for exchange purposes to a shared vacation owner’s space banked or deposited vacation time.

Fixed Week

This is a type of shared vacation ownership, which grants usage rights which are attached to a specific week of the year each year in perpetuity.

Flexi-week

Unlike fixed week ownership, this is a type of shared vacation ownership where the use rights are subject to the owner reserving his / her week within a season purchased (spring, summer, etc) or sometimes throughout the year.

Fractional Ownership

This type of vacation ownership is real estate sold in modules of more than one week, but less than whole ownership. Fractional ownership is usually associated with the luxury vacation ownership segment of the market and usually they offer more services and amenities.

Home Owners Association (HOA)

This is a group of owners that administer the rules and regulations of a resort. The formation of a Home Owners Association is often prescribed by South African legislation.

Inter-leading

A type of shared vacation unit consisting of multiple living and sleeping areas designed to function as two discrete units for purposes of occupancy exchange. The unit can be combined to form one large unit or it can be split into two or more separate units, allowing the owner to split the vacation into multiple stays or space bank all or a portion for exchange purposes.

Levies

Shared vacation owners are required to pay a fee, usually on an annual basis, to cover the running costs of a resort, which includes the daily management, upkeep and improvements.

Points

A “currency” that represents shared vacation ownership and is often used to calculate a value for seasons, unit sizes and resort locations.

Primary Resort

The resort where a new purchaser owns his or her week, this resort will be designated as the primary resort in a club or points-based program. The ownership of shared vacation interests is usually tied to this home resort and generally involves priority reservation rights in that location.

Private Residence Club

This type of shared vacation ownership offers extravagant collections of five-star accommodation situated in opulent resort hotspots and are maintained by five-star hospitality giants. Membership into these clubs can vary from fractional ownership, whole ownership and points-based programs. The cost to become a member can reach the 6 figure range.

Revision or “Cooling off” Period

Often referred to as a “cancellation” period. A period of time during which a consumer has the right to cancel a purchase contract and obtain a full refund of his/her deposit with no penalty. This is contained within the National Credit Act, the Estate Agency Act and is also stipulated in VOASA’s Code of Conduct. The Revision or “cooling off” period is 5 working days. This is just another example of the strong consumer protections built into shared vacation ownership sales.

Resale

A shared vacation ownership interest, which is sold on the secondary market by the original purchaser to a third party.

Space banking or Deposit

Space banking or depositing is the name given to the procedure of depositing a week of vacation ownership into an exchange system or inventory pool.

Time or Weekly Modules

Shared vacation ownership is measured by using a set number of days and nights of annual use, usually one week.

Timesharing

A term used to describe a method of use and / or shared ownership of vacation real estate where purchasers acquire a period of time (often one week) in a unit or other type of vacation accommodation. Timeshare is also known as “vacation ownership or shared vacation ownership”

Usage Rights or Occupancy Rights

A vacation owners’ right to occupy a unit at a resort for a specified number of years and having no real estate interest conveyed.

Vacation Ownership

A term often used to describe timeshare ownership, fractional ownership, destination and private residence clubs.

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